The L.A. Times music blog

Grammy Awards: Why is John Mayer here, and what did Lady Antebellum just win?

February 13, 2011 | 7:23
pm

I like to think that the Recording Academy headquarters in West Los Angeles has a signal. Chief Neil Portnow goes to the roof and turns a Grammy logo into the clouds and -- BOOM -- John Mayer swoops in from wherever he is. Apparently, he was thought to be a good enough guitarist for a few verses of Dolly Parton's "Jolene." He didn't add anything, he didn't ruin anything, he just reinforced the old adage that Grammy = John Mayer, but we could give a list of 750 guitarists more suited. Likewise, Norah Jones sang, with slightly more roughness than usual, which would be nice if she'd explore on record.

However, the real crime here is Lady Antebellum winning song of the year for "Need You Now" over Cee Lo Green's "... You." The latter made its mark as one of 2010's defining songs, while "Need You Now" has shown that Lady A can pen a hit about a bootie call. Miranda Lambert's "The House That Built Me" also would have been a better choice, as well as Eminem's overdramatic "Love the Way You Lie" with Rihanna.

But no one really watches the Grammys for their always misguided award handouts.